Mayan Backstrap Weaving
Something new for 2022
I’ve always been attracted to primitive looms*—mostly because I love the idea of being able to make my own loom instead of spending hundreds (or thousands) of dollars on mass produced looms that anyone can buy.
My grandfather, an adept wood worker, built my first frame looms for me when I was 15 years old. I had spent a week on the Navajo reservation in Window Rock, Arizona and by the time I got back home, I was itching to learn to weave. Frame looms were the easiest looms to build, so my grandfather made me three different sized looms to play with. I learned the basics of weaving on these looms and I still have them packed away somewhere.
Over the holidays, I started watching Mayan weaving documentaries and decided that I’d like to try real backstrap loom weaving. I bought a very simple (mass produced) “backstrap loom” from Harrisville, but it seemed like more of a toy than a traditional loom, so I didn’t spend much time with it.
After watching a few videos from Trama Textiles (Guatemala), I found that they sell pre-warped looms on their website. I ordered one on December 30th and it arrived last week, but the video instructions that were listed as part of the price were nowhere to be found, so I had to contact Trama to get those links. After several days (and emails), I was finally able to reach someone through Instagram about sending the videos to me.
Before I received the loom from Trama Textiles, I ordered a second loom from Kakaw Designs (also based out of Guatemala) so I could compare the two looms. This loom arrived much quicker and seems like a better quality warp than the one from Trama (and it was about $40 cheaper and came with a carrying bag). Instructional videos can be found on Kakaw Designs blog, so new weavers can get started right away.
Even though I don’t see myself becoming a professional backstrap weaver, I think it’s always a good idea to experiment with other forms of one’s craft—whether weaving, spinning, knitting, etc.
*By primitive loom, I mean a loom that is simply constructed and has been used for thousands of years.